Princips of the Marshes
Summary The Princips of the Marshes is a loosely organized principality who are descendants of an ancient theocracy. They are a culture under threat by limited food, harsh winters, and constant raiding by monsters. The Principii are a kind, generous people. But their rulers are much more occupied with issues of faith and power, than the needs of their kin. History Founding They were once part of of the ancient Llochs Regne, or "Lakes Kingdom," a theocracy that welcomed any man or breed provided they convert, swearing their lives to the Goddesses of the Lakes. Men, dwarves, and elves lived in peace and prosperity for centuries. The Kingdom fell apart in a series of theological disputes, that devolved into civil war and eventually, utter ruin. The only mark on the world left of the Kingdom are three lakes named after the Goddesses: Glas, Luar, and Fuar, and the struggling peoples of the Princips. Present Day The Principii as they are now called, have survived for 500 years, squeezed between the tribesmen of the Cavaltyrii to their south, and the scourge of the north, the Skarda Gobli and their slave mines. Power is held by a few noble families, while the commoners toil in fear. Appearance Principii look much like men now, betraying little of their fey and dwarven lines. Most are short in stature, lean, with piercing eyes. Many are quite long-lived, reaching a century or more. And those of royal priest class, show many elven traits: pale hair, chiseled features, with slight points to their ears. Society Principii society is a blend of close bonds and harsh realities. Theft between Principii is almost unheard of. Commoner families shall the land and its produce. Because of the threat of slavery, outsiders are always viewed with suspicion. Principii come off as gruff, practical, and direct, considering light conversation a waste of time. They hold tightly to a maxim: "One who provides is one of us." Resources are slim, and each man must bring something to the table. A common greeting between Principii is ''"Kay trajis?" ''"What did you bring?" Principii of royal blood have a far more formal bearing. They will spend an inordinate amount of time in polite conversation. As hosts, they will ask nothing of the guest, and provide everything asked. Unfortunately, the reverse is true. Visiting nobility can be a great burden upon commoners. "When a noble is full, the village has starved," is a phrase muttered among many commoners. Still, all classes of Principii are deeply bound together by their faith. By it they can feed their people, fight off sickness from the mosquito-swarming lakes, and drive out the ever-present gobli raiders. Family Life Commoner families are small. The Principii are careful about childrearing. They have only as many children as they can carry, or who are old enough to run. Principii nobility also have small families, simply because they are on the move; and cannot support too many mouths. The oldest woman rules within a household. The oldest man still able to work is the authority outside of the home. Sons and daughters are of equal standing, but must follow the word of their elders without question. This is true of both noble and common families. Principii, young or old, who are too infirm to fight or run, are abandoned. Principii nobility tend to bend or break this rule--hiding family weakened by age or disease. Governance The Prince-Keepers The Principii are a monarchy, but claim no king. The right of rulership is claimed "by blood and book": blood lineage and possession of holy texts. A Principii ruler, known as a Prince-Keeper, must have possession of one of the three ancient bibles of the Old Faith, and trace their lineage back to the priests of the Lakes Kingdom. Currently there are three Keepers who rule over the Marshlands, all claiming legitimacy, all claiming to have the oldest texts. Prince-Keepers wear a "mantle of eyes," a half cloak woven with elvish silver, from which hang hundreds of reading lenses. Each is made from quartz and jewel, set in gold or brass, used to decipher the hidden texts of the Old Books. Keepers of these Old Books become incredibly powerful clerics. Year after year, they discern new spells, wards,and powers from the ancient texts. Prince-Keepers are always male. They may father as many heirs as they please. But only one may take the mantle. Thus, most Prince-Keepers remain chaste, or deny parentage to all but a few heirs, for the history of Principii fratricide and patricide is long and dark. The Old Books There are three remaining texts from the Kingdom of the Lakes: The Book of Quartz, of Brass, and of Gold. They are not so much books as folios of hundreds of exceedingly thin, etched metals and crystal, of dwarven make. * The Book of Gold has gold pages so thin, that they bend like parchment, and can be torn in the wind. Reading is done with great care. By placing the the book in a bowl of water or wine, the pages may be turned without tearing. Different types of liquid are said to reveal hidden scripture. * The Book of quartz has plates so delicate that one can see through them (and script from one plate is said to illuminate script on another). In order to read the work, correctly plates must be arrayed in certain order to catch light from the sun, moon, or a fire. Each light source illuminates a different text. * The Book of Brass is actually a series of thin rods marked in ancient script. They must be rolled in clay to be read. Each rod is said to heal a particular sickness as well. How much pressure is applied, what order, and what orientation the rods are rolled can produce different layers of text. The Scrolls The second and last rank of government within the Princips are the Scrolls: the warrior-priests of the Principii. Scrolls serve to guard the Princips from invaders, and guard the faith from heresy. Scrolls are known to be able to quote chapters of the Old Books for hours on end by memory. They are known by Three Marks of Faith: the first; body tattoos with quotes and images from scripture. The second and third Marks are weapons: a sickle and a spear. The sickle is plain, unadorned, and must be given to the Scroll by a Principii farmer. This is a mark of authority from the people. The spear is far more ostentatious. Made from Shndrit (shining) steel, the spear head is dull grey, but never rusts. It takes on a shine only after piercing flesh. The shaft is made from Drukknafura (drowned pine), a silvery magical wood that never rots; and bound with brass twine. The Shndrit spear is a mark of authority from the state. Only a few hundred are bestowed, and only by the authority of a Prince-Keeper. Scrolls may marry as many as three women. Their offspring are considered of royal priestly blood. But only one son or daughter may take up the scythe and spear. The rest live off of the good will of the people or brigandry--sometimes both. Scrolls do not own the land either. However, they can live in the bastles hidden throughout the Marshlands; and demand shelter from any commoner. Some Scrolls have innate powers, and with prayers to the Goddesses, can heal wounds and sickness. A Scroll who is disgraced must give up his spear, break the sickle, and worst of all, remove his tattoos. The People The remaining 90% of the Principii are nominally free men. They own their farms or fisheries, but must grant shelter, food, and tithe to the ruling classes. Few of the people ever move more than a few miles from their farming or hunting grounds. Most are illiterate, letting the priestly class teach them the faith and obligations of their station by song and verse. Warfare Principii do not have a standing army, relying instead on close networks of families to raise up a militia. Principii also form an ad hoc navy of skiffs and canoes to defend their lands from attack by the Skarda. Jugar-Tumbat-i-Arik They do however, have a unique indigenous fighting style called Jugar-Tumbat-i-Arik, Play of Spear and Sickle. Called simply "the Play," the style evokes the traditions of the Principii: royalty who hunted the lakes for giant gar; and the commoner who harvested the lowlands of wild rice. Even the most impoverished farmer has these tools on hand; and can pass the tradition down to his sons and daughters. Most Principii are ambidextrous, and take well to two weapons rather than a shield and sword. The fighting form resembles a dance, in which the warrior changes stance and guard, attacking with spear, defending with sickle, then reversing the action, coming in close with the sickle, and using the spear as guard. The art of Spear and Sickle is to constantly keep the opponent off-balance, uncertain of the weapons he is facing, never able to mount a concerted attack. The fighter leads with the sickle, attacking around the opponent's guard, slashing at their shoulder/neck over the shield, or at the forearm against a sword. The spear is primarily used as an off-hand guard, blocking, then riposting. The true power of the fighting style is through the spear. The weapon is short, only four feet in length. It can be cradled in the arm to strike close, or held in the hand to strike from up to eight feet. Finally, the spear can be thrown from up to 30 feet, creating a threat against the both opponent and his allies. Location The Princips is located in marshlands bordering the southern lakes of Astaadyr, on the eastern side Loch Glas, and northern side of Loch Luar. They have retreated away from Loch Fuar, leaving it to the Cavalltyri, and have lost their western lands to the Skarda Gobli. Estimated Numbers The Principii are known to number in the thousands. Known Towns Common Principii live in hundreds of family farms. The royal clans move about the Marshlands, living in the few stone-built fortifications of the region, called "bastles." The bastles are considered holy ground. They are rumored to be filled with dried meats, grain, treasure, and weapons for the royalty. Allies The Principii have few allies. They trade wild rice and shells with the Cavalltyrii and Geistinglund. Foes Prinicipii are sworn enemies of the Skarda Gobil. Gobli and Principii give no quarter. The goblins raid across the frozen Loch Glas every winter to take slaves and add meat to their larders. The Principii respond in kind, raiding the goblin lands, blocking their mines and burning their warrens. Characters Prince-Keeper Trosomeni; Keeper of the Golden Book Known as the "Prince of Gold." Trosomeni is a vainglorious ruler, known for demanding his followers to stand for hours long sermons and quotations from faith. He has watery blue eyes, thinning orange hair, and prefers robes and tunics of green cloth. He is quite fat for a Principii; and has resorted to riding in a cart to travel his lands. The Prince of Gold is also going blind. If other Principii were to discover his condition, he would lose his Book and his lands. Gamut of Lochfuar; commoner (and heretic) Gamut is a mysterious figure; said to be more a bard than a cleric. He or she has secretly united villagers of Loch Fuar against the nobility--and worse has preached about the Lake Goddesses without permission of the Scrolls. Gamut has sent messengers out of the marshlands looking for able swordsmen and fighting mages to overthrow the rule of the Prince-Keepers. Comments "Yew don't look like yer from around here... yew look like stranger-folk." --Pricipii Commoner "Every year the Skardi raid our lands. Every year we drive them back; but the losses are high." Opakyn, Scroll of the Brass "The commoners are like our crops. We protect them of course, but there is spoilage and loss." --Prince-Keeper Trosomeni Category:Cultures